President Trump said Monday that people in the Middle East have “had enough” of the violence and instability that has plagued the region, and told the Israeli leaders who greeted him upon his arrival in Israel that he found “new reasons to hope” for peace during the first leg of his journey in Saudi Arabia.
“There’s a great feeling for peace throughout the Middle East,” Trump said in remarks with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem. “I think people have just had enough. They’ve had enough of the bloodshed and the killing, and I think you’re going to see things starting to happen.”
During his trip to #Israel, President #DonaldTrump said, Theres a great feeling for peace throughout the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/3qykiO9ViV— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 22, 2017
Trump referred to the nuclear agreement his predecessor struck with Iran, a deal Israel strongly opposed at the time. Fresh off his two-day stop in Riyadh, Trump has already spent part of his trip criticizing Iran as he reaffirms the U.S. commitment to traditional American allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia.
“I will say, one of the things I think, you can call it an outreach, but what’s happened with Iran has brought many other parts of the Middle East toward Israel,” Trump said. “I’ve seen such a different feeling toward Israel from countries that, as you know, were not feeling so well about Israel not so long ago.”
Trump noted that he and his delegation “were treated incredibly well” by the Saudis during the president’s overseas debut on Saturday, during which he struck a $110 billion arms deal with the Middle Eastern ally and delivered a landmark speech about Islamic extremism to a group of Arab leaders.
Donald Trump in Israel speech: “I have found new reasons for hope” https://t.co/3g5jlcJyl0 pic.twitter.com/9mx5TdUXAt
— CNN International (@cnni) May 22, 2017
“I have found new reasons for hope,” Trump said of his time in Riyadh after landing in Tel Aviv. “In that visit, we reached historic agreements to pursue greater and greater cooperation in the fight against terrorism.”
Another historic moment on @POTUS first foreign trip. AF1 flies direct from Riyadh to Tel Aviv. #POTUSAbroad pic.twitter.com/3rol2R5miI
— Sarah H. Sanders (@SHSanders45) May 22, 2017
Trump’s flight from Riyadh to Tel Aviv marked a first for Air Force One. Sarah Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, noted the “historic moment” as the president’s plane cruised over Saudi Arabia and toward Israel.
During his time in Israel, Trump is expected to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. While the Trump administration has distanced itself from former President Barack Obama’s focus on a two-state solution, Trump has spoken frequently about his desire to help broker an agreement that could lead to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
